Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 156

Author: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1530

USA > Colorado > Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present > Part 156

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The spring of 1860 found Mr. Kolle among the hundreds who crossed the plains to Colorado. The trip was made with a team of oxen and he arrived in Denver about the Ist of May. Going to Hamilton, he engaged in mining and prospect- ing in Tarryall Gulch. There he continued un- til 1870, with the exception of the winters of 1861 and 1868, when he went to the valley near Canon City and engaged in hunting and fishing.

In 1870 he settled ten miles above Lake George, on Tarryall Creek, where he built a cabin. With two yoke of oxen he began freighting from Den- ver to Breckenridge. For three summers he en- gaged in freighting, while during the winter months he remained on his ranch. In 1873 he settled upon his present ranch, and during the years that have intervened he has engaged in haying and cattle-raising. He is one of the sub- stantial ranchmen of Park County, where, by pre-emption and purchase, he has acquired five hundred and two acres of land.

The marriage of Mr. Kolle to Miss Dora J. Shepard occurred December 14, 1880. She was born in Lapeer County, Mich., a daughter of Abel M. and Elizabeth (Walters) Shepard, the former a cabinet-maker and carpenter of Michi- gan until his death, which occurred in Memphis, St. Clair County, that state. Mr. and Mrs. Kolle became the parents of three children, but two of these are deceased. Their only surviving child is George A., who was born November 18, 1881, and is a promising young man. Since 1893 Mr. Kolle has acted as president of the school board of his district, in which capacity he has been instrumental in promoting the welfare of the . school and advancing the interests of the pupils.

OHN WALTERS, president of the Standard Meat and Live Stock Company, is at the head of one of the largest firms that do busi- ness in their line in Denver. Beginning without capital, he worked his way forward until now he occupies a position among the foremost business men of the west. The firm is interested in sheep raising in Wyoming, where they are engaged in breeding and raising sheep, and they are also buying, ranging and breeding sheep in Utah and Colorado. They also feed sheep in Almena, Nor- ton County, Kan., and St. Paul, Neb., being per- haps one of the largest sheep dealers and raisers in the west. They are also engaged in cattle feeding at Almena, Kan.

In Buffalo, N. Y., where he was born in 1853, our subject passed his boyhood days. In 1870 he came to Colorado and for a few months worked in the employ of others, but in the fall of 1870 started in the meat and live-stock business for himself, beginning on a small scale near the pres- ent location of the Denver & Rio Grande yards. Several months later he embarked in the sheep business, buying several hundred head in New Mexico and driving them up to Denver market,

HON. JAMES H. JONES.

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thus laying the foundation of the large business of the present time. The meat business was carried on as Walters & Co. for a time, then changed to John Walters & Co., later became Walters, Aicher & Walters, and finally was in- corporated as the Standard Meat and Live Stock Company (close corporation, same owners only), with our subject as president, Mr. Aicher vice- president, and Leonard Walters secretary and treasurer.

AMES H. JONES, ex-county judge of Mor- gan County, was born in Putney, Vt., Janu- ary 9, 1846, a son of Joseph and Mary E. (Baldwin) Jones, he and his sister, Mary, being the survivors of three children. His father was born in South Royalston, Mass., June 21, 1821, and when ten years of age accompanied his par- ents to Putney, Vt., where he grew to manhood, married and settled upon a farm. For twelve years he served as justice of the peace and he also held other minor offices. In 1871 he settled with the colony at Greeley, Colo., to the growth of which he contributed until his death five years later.

The education of our subject was mainly ac- quired in Powers Institute, at Bernardston, Mass. At seventeen years of age he went to New Hampshire and secured employment as clerk in a general store, but one year later went to Boston, where he was employed by a wholesale dry-goods firm. During the five years he remained in that position he laid the foundation of his subsequent success. A severe attack of pneumonia, in the spring of 1869, caused him to stop work in Bos- ton and return home. In the winter of 1869-70 he spent some months with a dry-goods firm in New York City, returning from there to Ver- mont. In April, 1870, he came to Colorado, ar- riving in Greeley on the 30th of April, in com- pany with a number of colonists. He established himself in the mercantile business and was suc- cessful in this undertaking, but in 1874 disposed of his stock of goods, after which he turned his attention to the sheep industry.

In 1875 he came to what is now Morgan County. While he has engaged in the cattle busi- ness to some extent here, he has been principally interested in raising sheep, of which he owns two thousand head. Heis the owner of four hundred and eighty acres of farming and grazing land. For many years he has filled the position of jus- tice of the peace, serving in that capacity in early

days, when people were often obliged to come from distances of fifty miles or more, in order to sub- scribe to affidavits. In 1890 he was elected to fill an unexpired term of two years as county judge of Morgan County. In 1892 and 1895 he was re- elected to the office, which he filled with efficiency and fidelity. His entire service in office has cov- ered a period of nineteen years. Upon his re- tirement from the bench the board of county com- missioners of Morgan County adopted resolu- tions commending his administration as "able, just and economic.". His political affiliations are with the Republican party. Fraternally he is a member of Oasis Lodge No 67, A. F. & A. M., in which he has three times been honored with the office of worshipful master. He is identified with Silver Lodge No. 60, K. P., in which he has served as chancellor and in other offices. He is also a trustee of the grand lodge.

February 19, 1871, Judge Jones married Miss Fannie M. Bucknam, who was born in Maine, and died in Greeley, Colo., in September, 1874, leaving a son, Herbert F., who is acquiring his education in Mount Hermon, Mass. The second marriage of Judge Jones took place April 27, 1880, and united him with Adelia E. Murray, by whom he has one son, Laurence D., born January 1, 1887.

UANE D. FINCH, proprietor of the Finch livery stable at Trinidad, was born in Mil- waukee, Wis., July 22, 1842, a son of James B. and Eunice Finch. His father, a native of New York, grew to manhood in Michigan, and about 1834 made settlement in Wisconsin, where he engaged in farming and trading. Accom- panied by his family, in 1852 he went to Fayette County, Iowa, and there he continued to reside until his death in 1877. In his family there were five children. Rebecca, the eldest of these, mar- ried George W. Ward, who enlisted in the Union army and died while in the service; she after- ward was married to a farmer, living in Dela- ware County, Iowa. The oldest son is a farmer in Fayette County, Iowa. Nancy H. was first the wife of E. E. Chandler, of West Union, Iowa, and afterward married William Cowles, of the same place. Burns B. is engaged in the mer- cantile business in Severy, Kan.

The youngest of the children was the subject of this sketch. He was ten years of age when the fam- ily moved to Iowa, and there the years of youth were spent. He had been deprived of a mother's

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care by the death of this parent when he was only six months old, but his older sisters minis- tered to his needs until he was old enough to care for himself. In April, 1861, he enlisted for nine- ty days in Company F, Third Iowa Infantry, and re-enlisted for three years. During his pe- riod of service he saw much hardship. From Hannibal, Mo., he accompanied General Grant's command to the south, and was afterwards trans- ferred to Sherman's command. Among his prin- cipal engagements were Shiloh, Vicksburg and Atlanta. In the latter city he was captured July 22, 1864, and spent four months in Andersonville prison. During much of this time he was en- tirely helpless, as he had been wounded in the battle, a musket ball grazing his spine in such a way as to cause paralysis, and for two months he was unable to move without assistance. After he was released from prison he joined his com- mand, and witnessed the surrender of Johnston at Raleigh. He then proceeded to Washington and participated in the grand review.

As a soldier, his army record is a brilliant one, and he may well be proud of it. In addition to his most serious wound he was twice wounded during his service. For meritorious conduct at Vicksburg he was promoted to be a sergeant. At Atlanta he was made a lieutenant, and held that rank when his commission expired. As lieutenant he commanded his company at At- lanta, and when falling, seriously wounded on the battlefield, and later being captured by the enemy, he was reported killed.

Going to Iowa, Mr. Finch bought a farm, but his war service left him so crippled that he was unable to cultivate the land. In 1866 he went to Kansas City and became agent for the Over- land Mail and Express Company, which owned a line from that city to Fort Scott and Junction City. During the thirteen years he continued in their employ he was principally engaged as office agent. In 1871 he was sent to Trinidad to open an office at this place, and this he did, con- tinuing at the head of the office until 1876, when lie went on the road as assistant superintendent. In July, 1879, he severed his connection with the company and opened a livery stable on Com- mercial street. In April, 1883, he sold the busi- ness, and for one and one-half years afterward was engaged in the wagon and carriage trade. Later he was owner of the livery stable known as the " Red Barn," on South Commercial street. In 1888 he opened his present stable on the cor-

ner of First and Beach streets, and this business he has since conducted. In 1872 he built, on Second street, the first brick residence in Trin- idad. He is a member of the board of trade of this city.

On the Republican ticket Mr. Finch was elected city treasurer, which office he filled for two terms. In 1895 he was elected sheriff of Las Animas County and served for two years. As delegate to different conventions he has been active and prominent in party matters. Frater- nally he is a member of Jacob Abernethy Post No. 29, G. A. R., of which he is past commander, and he has also served as junior vice department commander. He has represented his post in different state encampments and the grand en- campments in Denver and St. Louis. Septem- ber 11, 1870, he married Sarah A. Stewart, who was born in Wisconsin, but spent her girlhood principally in Kansas. Three daughters com- prise the family of Mr. and Mrs. Finch. Mabel A. is the wife of Frank E. Scott, a photographer, at No. 1610 Sixteenth street, Denver. Minnie E. married H. H. Jones and is living in Denver. The youngest daughter, Maude D., is with her parents.

ON. ELTON T. BECKWITH. On Mount Desert Island Elton T. Beckwith was born, - April 1, 1847. He was educated in the schools of Cambridge and Boston. In 1866 he embarked in the wholesale flour and grain busi- ness in Philadelphia, but in 1869 closed out the business and in April of the following year came to Denver to engage in the stock business. The previous year his brother, Edwin F., had settled in what is now Custer County, and the two formed a partnership and have since carried on a large and profitable business.

While residing upon his place, known as the Waverly ranch, Custer County was established. In 1886 he was elected upon the Republican ticket to represent his district in the state senate, and served as chairman of the committee on edu- cation and educational institutions, and as chair- man of the stock committee. Not desiring re- election, he retired to private life at the close of his term. He has been a delegate to county and state conventions and in other ways has been actively identified with his party.

The business career of Mr. Beckwith has been a successful one. His honorable dealings with all men have become proverbial among the busi-

HORACE ALDEN.

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PORTRAIT AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ness men of Colorado, who look upon him as one of the most substantial and enterprising citizens of the Centennial state.

ORACE ALDEN. During the year 1879 Mr. Alden came to Park County and pur- chased from his father five hundred and sixty acres situated near Garo. Upon this prop- erty he at once began in the haying and cattle business. From time to time he made additional purchases until the ranch became one of seven hundred and twenty acres. While he commenced for himself without resources, equipped only with a fair education and the qualities of industry and perseverance, he has gained a position among the successful and respected citizens of his county. In January, 1890, he was appointed by the gov- ernor to fill a vacancy as commissioner of Park County, and in the fall of the same year he was elected to the legislature, serving as a represen- tative in the eighth general assembly.

In the province of Quebec, Canada, our subject was born February 2, 1846, a son of Elisha and - Unfortunately, a business depression soon settled Ruhamah F. (Turner) Alden. He was one of eight children, of whom the following survive: Viola, the widow of William Staples, of St. Cloud, Minn .; Rosetta, wife of I. S. Staples, also of St. Cloud; Horace; Lucinda and Lorinda (twins), the former the wife of Joseph Rogers, a prominent ranchman of Park County, the latter married to a Mr. Hill, of Rossland, British Columbia; and Hiram, who lives in Glenwood Springs, Colo. George Alden, the other son, died in April, 1896, at Glenwood Springs. Mrs. Matilda Haff, the other daughter, died in 1881.

Elisha Alden was born in New Hampshire in 1815. At eighteen years of age he accompanied his parents to Canada. A short time afterward he left the parental roof and went to Springfield, Mass., where he worked in a factory; he was also similarly employed in Wilbrahamı. After five years he returned to Canada, and August 9, 1840, married Miss Turner, after which he engaged in farming. In 1855 he migrated to Minnesota and opened a meat market in Louisville. Three years later he removed to St. Cloud, Minn., where he purchased and cultivated farm land. In 1860 he formed one of Colorado's pioneers, leaving Minnesota March 12 and crossing the plains with an ox-team. From Denver he pro- ceeded to the mountains and engaged in pros- pecting at Fairplay, Alma, Buckskin Joe, Breck- enridge and other points. In the fall he returned

to Minnesota to spend the winter. May 8, 1861, he began his return trip to Colorado, being ac- companied by his family, and arriving in Denver July 31. Two days later he went to Mount Ver- non, Jefferson County, where he engaged in the hotel business and remained until 1870. He then came to Garo and located the land now owned by our subject. After selling the property, in 1879, he purchased a ranch two miles west, and there remained for two years. Now, although eighty- four years of age, he is active and robust, and superintends the management of his ranch near Glenwood Springs, where he has resided since 1881.

While a youth, our subject learned the black- smith's trade. Shortly after finishing his ap- prenticeship he began freighting for his father from Denver to different mining camps. Three months after he was twenty years of age his fa- ther gave him his time and he engaged in freight- ing for himself. In 1872 he sold his outfit and went to Golden, where he invested in real estate. upon the town, and his investment proved a failure. For three and one-half years he en- gaged in the express business. Upon selling out he turned his attention to railroading, which he followed until he came to Garo. In the fall of 1890 he was elected to the state legislature on the Republican ticket, serving one term with honor to himself and his constituents. In the fall of 1898 he was again tendered the nomination, when it was equivalent to an election, but he refused to be considered for the office. While in Golden, February 2, 1873, he married Miss Dorothy L. Turner, daughter of Alfred L. Turner and a na- tive of Canada. During the years of his resi- dence in Park County he has won many friends, who esteem him highly for his manly traits of character. Fraternally he is a member of Doric Lodge No. 25, A. F. & A. M., of Fairplay.

LLOYD GRUBB, a prominent ranchman of Garfield County, came to Roaring Fork Valley in 1887 and for some years was in partnership with his brother, Eugene, in the stock business, occupying the ranch where his brother now resides. From there in 1893 he re- moved to the ranch known as Sunny Side four miles north of Carbondale on the Mesa, upon which he has since built a substantial residence, good barns and other farm buildings, and has made other improvements. The land is under a

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high state of cultivation and some farm products are raised. On the ranch are fine meadows of alfalfa. His attention is principally given to the raising of cattle. He stands high in the com- munity and in 1898 was president of the District Fair Association and secretary of the Roaring Fork and Eagle County Stock Association. .

Near Meadville, Crawford County, Pa., our subject was born, November 14, 1855. His father, Edmund Grubb, a native of Pennsylvania, was an extensive tanner and, when the Civil war began, he had his tannery crowded to its utmost capacity, but the vats were at once emptied and the hides hung on the fence to dry. He then enlisted as a private in the Second Pennsylvania Cavalry, assigned to the Army of the Potomac, and took part in the battles of Gettysburg, An- tietam, South Mountain and all the important en- gagements in Virginia. For meritorious conduct he was promoted to be first sergeant. After four years of service he was honorably discharged. It is a fact worthy of note that of the ten brothers in the family eiglit served in the Civil war, seven on the Union side and one as a Confederate soldier. After the war was over, he moved to Blue Earth, Minn., where he engaged in the tanning business and also cultivated a farm. He died in April, 1898, at seventy-eight years of age. His father, Daniel Grubb, was born in Pennsyl- vania, to which state his grandfather had come from Switzerland. By trade a gunsmith, he assisted in founding a large business of that kind in Philadelphia, which still continues and is a large concern.

The mother of our subject was Sarah Jane Housel, who was born in Crawford County, Pa., and is still living there. She is of English ex- traction and, through her mother, is connected with Bishop Vincent, of Chautauqua fame. Her father, Joseph Housel, was a tanner in Pennsyl- vania; she had one brother who died in Libby Prison. Of her children, E. H. is a farmer in Garfield County, Colo .; Anna Belle is the wife of Charles Armstrong, of Minneapolis, Minn .; Josephine is the widow of Charles Smith; and Alberta, widow of George Winters, is postmis- tress at Carbondale, Colo.

When eleven years of age our subject accom- panied his parents to Minnesota. Two years later he began to work out on farms. From that time on he was self-supporting. For several years he engaged in brick making in Minnesota and Montana, and later spent two years in the oil

regions of Pennsylvania. In the spring of 1880 he came to Colorado and settled at Aspen, where for seven years he was interested in mining. He then came to Garfield County, his present home. In May, 1894. he married Jeunie V. Hendrie, daughter of Isaac Hendrie, who was born in Connecticut, moved thence to Ohio and from there to Iowa, where Mrs. Grubb was born. She is a lady of refinement, a devoted wife and mother, whose chief happiness is in ministering to the wants of her husband and daughter, Grace Louise. In politics Mr. Grubb was formerly a Republican, but now affiliates with the People's party, having been influenced in his change of politics by the stand taken by the parties upon the silver question.

OBERT FINLEY, a pioneer of 1860 and a well-known citizen of Colorado City, was born in Fayette County, Pa., May 29, 1830. - He is of Scotch descent, the first of the name in America having emigrated from Scotland to Ire- land, and thence to New Jersey. Rev. James Finley, who was born in eastern Pennsylvania, was the first Presbyterian minister west of the Alleghanies, and established churches in Fayette and Westmoreland Counties. His son, Ebenezer, was twelve years of age when the family settled in Fayette County, and there he spent the remain- ing years of his life. He participated in the Indian wars and had many narrow escapes. Under the soil that he tilled large deposits of coal were afterward found.

Ebenezer Finley, Jr., our subject's father, was born in Fayette County, Pa., in 1804, and owned two farms in his native county, one of which adjoined the old homestead. He died in 1891. His wife, Phœbe, was born in Pennsylvania in 1807 and died there in 1897. She was a daugh- ter of Caleb Woodward, who was born in Chester County, Pa., and removed to Fayette County, where he engaged in farming and also followed the blacksmith's trade. He was a Quaker, and his wife, who was a Miss Carter, was an adherent of the same society. In the family of Ebenezer Finley, Jr., there were twelve children, all but two of whom attained maturity, and three sons and two daughters are still living, Robert being the oldest of the survivors. When a boy he spent two years in Dunlap Creek Academy at Merritts- town, Pa., after which he learned surveying.

In 1851 Mr. Finley went to Colesburg, Dela- ware County, Iowa, via the Ohio and Mississippi

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Rivers, and there clerked in a store and taught school for one year. He then engaged on the government survey for a time near Clear Lake, Iowa, and afterward accompanied four surveying expeditions into northern Iowa and southern Minnesota. At the time of the first settlement in Kansas, in 1854, he moved there via the Mississippi to St. Louis, then up the Missouri to Leavenworth. He was employed in subdividing the townships of Johnson County, and was one of the six original proprietors and incorporators of Olathe, that county. Through appointment by the county commissioners he served as county surveyor. When the territory was organized he was elected to the office, but resigned it before the expiration of the term. In 1859 he bought an interest in a sawmill, which he operated until 1860, and then, at the request of his partners, brought it to Colorado, expecting at the time to return to Kansas. However, his plans were changed, and after the war he sold his property in Johnson County.

A party, consisting of William Booth (now in Montana), George Smith (who was later killed in Arizona by Indians), Ambrose Furnoy (of Canon City), Mr. Finley and a man who was taken into the partnership in Kansas, started across the plains with forty-eight head of cattle, eight wagons, a large supply of provisions and a sawmill with machinery. They spent six weeks in coming up the Arkansas, and arrived in Colo- rado City June 16, 1860. Their sawmill (which was the first steam sawmill brought to El Paso County and the first south of the divide) was set up on Squirrel Creek, and for several years they manufactured lumber, which they hauled to Colo- rado City and Fountain.

In 1862 Mr. Finley mined in the mountains. The next year he assisted Mr. Sheldon in subdi- viding the Fountain Valley. Later he surveyed at La Junta, subdividing the land into lots. In 1862 he was elected the first county treasurer of El Paso County and served for one term. Soon afterward he was elected county assessor and served for four terms of one year each. For one year he served as county clerk. He and Mr. Hill had the contract to build the first frame house put up in Colorado Springs, after which he erected one hotel, several business blocks and houses there and in Colorado City. In 1866 he entered a farm of one hundred and sixty acres, ninety acres of which, after it was patented, he deeded to twenty-six members of a company for the gov-

ernment price of $1.25 per acre, in order that the property holders in Colorado City might have a good title to their property. The remainder of the land (seventy acres) he improved, placed under irrigation, and added to it by the purchase of one hundred and eighty-five acres, on which he raised hay. His surveying contracts have taken him throughout the entire country and have been in the interests of both companies and private parties. During the war, in 1864, he enlisted in Company G, Third Colorado Cavalry, and served as commissary sergeant in Company G in the battle of Sand Creek.

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Portrait and biographical record of the state of Colorado, containing portraits and biographies of many well known citizens of the past and present, Part 156

Author: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, pub Publication date: 1899 Publisher: Chicago, Chapman Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 1530

Author: Chapman Publishing Company, Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Chicago, Chapman Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1530